Car has no climate control, i have tried drying the car with electric heater for hours, but in the next morning- windows are foggy from the inside and if there is minus outside- frozen.

 

I always keep the fan running and rubber mats avoid me to carry additional humidity into car- does not help.

 

 

My friend had a theory, that maybe the cabin radiator is leaking a little bit and that causes this. 

 

How can I check that thought? I have no clue where to look...

 

Thanks, really tired of scraping the windows inside and outside.

Edited 16 January, 201511 yr by testuser3

Excessive humidity in the cabin is one of the most annoying things for Skoda Felicia owners. Nobody seems to pinpoint the cause. It is very frustrating indeed seeing that all cars parked around yours have clean windows . I am an avid reader of all Felicia forums around the world, so my help (for now) would be to summarize all hypothesis that were discussed. Here we go.

 

Water leaks in various places such as:

• windshield seal
• rear window seal
• door seals, plastic sheet acting as water barrier under door covers, clogged door drain holes
• firewall grommets
• holes in the boot area (floor, wheel arches, 5th door)

Damp materials such as

• the thick foam under the dash
• the seats
• the mats (rubber mats included)

The ventilation system itself

• rain or melted snow inside blower housing heated/evaporated by the engine heat and forced inside
• leaky heater radiator
• bad design of ventilation ducts and vents

Edited 16 January, 201511 yr by RicardoM

• rain or melted snow inside blower housing heated/evaporated by the engine heat and forced inside

Somebody thermo-insulated the heater housing to avoid that.

Another advantage is you have colder air during summer.

Don't use just kitchen tin foil, but a thicker sound deadening like material.

 

I gave up in the end, drilled two holes in the floor pan for drainage and left the windows down half an inch overnight.

Bad luck then, i havent seen any leaks in car, and im not going to drill holes in the floor or dissassemble the whole dash just to "try" and fix the problem, letting someone deal with it will probably cost teh price of the vehicle.

Oh well, thanks for thinking along.

The other thing is the windscreen frames are prone to rusting under the seal. Slowly filling the dashboard electrics with water on its way to the floor.

Bad luck then, i havent seen any leaks in car, and im not going to drill holes in the floor or dissassemble the whole dash just to "try" and fix the problem, letting someone deal with it will probably cost teh price of the vehicle.

Don't despair. I agree that drilling holes in the floor or dismantling the dashboard are not reasonable solutions. I am against them in fact. But if you look again on the list I compiled from many Felicia owners opinion, there are more things to check. My instinct tells me the most probable cause is the ventilation system itself. The hot moisture (quasi steam) comes from the engine bay and is sucked in the cabin. The air sucked should be dry, otheewise a sauna effect takes place in the cabin.

 

The only people that reported fixing the excessive humidity, fogging and freezing issue said they did 2 things:

• installed original dust / pollen filters
• mounted silica gel desiccant pouches inside ventilation ducts or around windows.

Finding the best sollution is a coolective effort.

Edited 19 January, 201511 yr by RicardoM

I have wondered about the filters, but im clueless where i can find them. What I am certain of, is that the filters have never been changed since the Felicia left the factory in 1998.

I guess the winter will be over again, before this issue is solved

What did you try since my last reply? I gave you a couple suggestions.

Don't expect the end of winter with your arms crossed. The only solution is to fight against humidity in the cabin.

Buy a hygrometer/thermometer to monitor the progress.

 

The link below is a confirmation. Of course you can use better looking pouches made of 100% cotton or wool. Imagination is the limit. Put one near windshield and one near rear window.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/dash-sock-silica-gel-prevent-frost-forming-windows-15901.html

You can buy cheap silica gel from pet shops.

 

The cars that have A/C don't have foggy windows because the system has a dehumidifier.

 

Here is a video too.

Edited 18 February, 201511 yr by RicardoM

Thanks, i was hoping for solution regarding the filters, but I guess its easier and probably cheaper to buy a lot of silica gel packets from china, wrap them in some sort of holder, which can be left on the dash for overnight, I dont think the thermometer has any point, because I will see the result anyways, and currently I even cant think of any reason why silica pads wouldn`t work.

 

 

Only question with that, is for how long gel can be used, until it needs the "oven treatment", to be dry again. Several hours a day of silica gel heating would be not pleasant...

Edited 19 February, 201511 yr by testuser3

I dont think the thermometer has any point, because I will see the result anyways.

You don't see the whole picture. A thermometer in the cabin has many useful features (read below), not to mention a digital hygrometer has usually a thermometer included at same price. But you can cover the temperature display if it really bothers you...

• shows how quickly the cabin heats up thus knowing the efficiency of the heater (for reference a Czech friend made a test at 0 C outside; the engine warmed up to 90 C in 7 minutes at idle, and the heater output temperature reached 43 C on 2nd speed of the blower)
• assesses the level of comfort in the cabin compared to outside temperature
• gives an indication of the propability of reaching the dew point and freezing point

Only question with that, is for how long gel can be used, until it needs the "oven treatment", to be dry again. Several hours a day of silica gel heating would be not pleasant...

I expect minimum 3 days of moisty weather till the dessicant needs to be dried. Some dessicants change color when fully wet. It takes 1 minute in the microwave or half hour on the radiator to dry it.

More help. Remember, these products only act on effect, they don't eliminate the cause which is excessive humidity. My advice is to use a dessicant AND shaving foam.

 

Thanks, are you aware, does rain repellent also work? Meanwhile, I guess any brand of shaving foam will do the trick.

Edited 20 February, 201511 yr by testuser3

Read all comments for last video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vj9avZxuwI